A Blog on McConnell Center Life

Gzeonie Hampton ('21) Coming into the McConnell Scholars Program I was as nervous as any other incoming freshman, but over my time scouring the website I noticed something that I felt like most of the other scholars wouldn't notice or wouldn't bother them. There is a small number of black students in the program, and the program's retention rate for black students is really low. By far, people that look like me don't seem to stick around. Now, this isn't me trying to drag the program. This blog is just an account of my fears and experiences.   So, on interview day I went in knowing that I would be one of just a few black students… Yes, I counted–there were three out of the thirty interviewed candidates. Sadly, I initially viewed the other black students less like friends and more as the people with whom I was really in competition. Eventually, I ended up in interview sessions with both of them, and by the end, I felt inadequate and like they were the...

Robert Gassman Class of 2018 As I prepare to finish my undergraduate experience at the University of Louisville, I have thoroughly contemplated what this next phase of life will have in-store for me. After four years of preparation, education, and domestic and international travel, I have made the decision to teach English language in Taiwan through the State Department’s Fulbright Scholars Program. In a time of increasing American isolationism and a retreat from global leadership, I have chosen to be an ambassador of American culture, and a small piece in the burgeoning international education community. While it is not easy to venture out from my home of 22 years, and live in a place 7,700 miles away, I believe the value of international exchange and education will prove to be a mutually beneficial experience for myself and my students. My position as an international educator places me in two roles: teacher and student. Proficiency in English is a central component of socia...

Malcomb Haming Class of 2021 On Tuesday, April 10, 2018 the Jefferson County Republican Party voted overwhelmingly to support Kentucky House Bill 166. This bill provided the structure for Kentucky to join nearly 30 other states in allowing eligible patients to use medical marijuana. The reason this resolution was even up for debate was because my dad, Phil Haming, was upset that the governor he voted for wouldn’t endorse the bipartisan bill when nearly 80 percent of Kentucky voters support permitting medical marijuana, according to a 2012 Kentucky Health Issues Poll. He decided to do something about it and drafted a resolution of support at the monthly committee meeting on community issues. My dad told me that this was the first time he felt like he was actually contributing to measurable political change and wasn’t just another body in the room. On Monday, April 9, he texted me my opening line from my first address to the Kentucky United Nations Assembly. I had opened with th...

Dennis Mashindi Class of 2021 November 15, 2017 was a day that brought a lot of confusion globally. Reports that President Robert Mugabe had been put on house arrest showed the world that the rule of “Uncle Bob” had come to an end. For those not familiar with “Uncle Bob”, he was the 93 year old man who had run Zimbabwe and its people into the ground through economic stagnation, political violence, and exploitation of Zimbabwean resources. He was famous for rigging election, killing off his opponents, and for being anti-west that his people suffered for 37 years for his actions. Now out of the blue, he has been put on house arrest by his very own army with rumors spreading that he was to resign immediately. It was on this day that through the army, the Zimbabwean people took their government back in the most peaceful military coup the world had ever seen. A week after his house arrest, Mugabe resigned as President and the baton was passed to his Emmerson Mnangagwa, his former v...

Eli Graft Class of 2021 I’ve never dabbled in stream of consciousness before but I decided that a blog post where I can say whatever I want would be a good place to start. This will be Eli Graft’s mind flowing out into a Word document. But I will be focusing on one thing that’s been on my mind in particular. This may be a rocky ride and those reading this may have trouble interpreting the full meaning; however, it has meaning to me and for all intents and purposes that’s really what this is for. Also, to avoid confusion I will be using real punctuation much unlike my dear old friend e.e. cummings who made his stream of consciousness much more difficult to decipher. Anyway, to get back to the nitty gritty, I’ll be trying to delve into this reoccurring theme that has been on my mind so that hopefully I can convey how I’ve been feeling lately.  For some reason, as of late, I have been randomly thinking about Kings Island. Every time it pops into my head, I get this warm feeli...

Emma Lawson Class of 2021 "Come, come one come all. You must be this tall to ride this ride at the carnival," the carny proclaims as a young woman steps onto the ride she has been waiting eighteen years to embark on. She has dreamed about this moment: the rush of emotions she would feel as she heard the carny turn the key, waiting to feel what it's like to be on this side of things. "Watch your step, sweetheart, you might fall getting on..." and BOOM. The young woman stumbles onto the ride, catching her breath and noting her heart rate increasing as she sits and attempts to buckle into her seat. As the carny comes around to ensure all passengers are buckled, she looks around. Everyone fits perfectly in their seat. Laughing and carrying on. It's like this ride was designed for them. Why was she having such a hard time getting buckled in before she slid out of her seat? The seat she knew was made just for her. The carny came to check on her. "Sir, ar...

Jasmyne Post Class of 2021 -A statement on society’s leadership in the style of freeform poetry- -Statements in red are products of The Republic of Plato as translated by Allan Bloom- -Statements in black are additions by myself, Jasmyne Post- Seeing which of these metals is mixed in their souls, they know their ultimate place, but they will continue to compete because they don’t praise justice by itself but the good reputation that comes from it. Is goodness still good if it brings no glory? Injustice when it comes into being on a sufficient scale is mightier, freer, and more masterful than justice, we praise the enemy’s weapon for its glimmer and for this reason an unjust man with gold dangling above his heart will be lifted above one who harbors it within. Proof that it’s possible for evil to be produced by gods. If each of us knows this is the way of the world, then why does it endure? I tell you it is because the song of a hungry man may not be th...

Grayson Ford Class of 2021 Recently the Electoral College has been a topic for debate more frequently than in the past. The reason for this is that now, for the fourth time in American history, the winner of the presidential election has not been the candidate winning the popular vote. This has lead many voters to feel apathetic about the voting process. Many were even outraged and felt the need to protest the results with chants “She got more votes!” Some who even have a better understanding of the Electoral College than most would still pose the question “What benefits does it (the Electoral College) have?” But why do those questions matter? One reason is the country seems to be very split on this issue. In fact, in a poll conducted by CBS News, the results showed that 54% of Americans are in favor to doing away with the Electoral College and 41% would like to keep it, with some responding with indifference. Also, of the four times that the Electoral College’s result has dif...

Jared Thomas Class of 2019 The world looks a little different from the inside of  a spinning metal cage. It smells like thick, acrid smoke and floods your lungs with a chorus of clashing, crunching metal pivots held together by hope-against-hope. It grips your sweat stained palms with worn away leather tassels and it jams your wobbling knees against thin sheets of quivering plastic. Blue skies up above are painted in startling mosaics of shattered glass and the wind whistles a deadly tune in the space between where your door used to be and where you most certainly are. I was in a car accident. This is how it changed me. Every single day, we throw our covers to the side with a light flick of the wrist. We place our feet on the ground, one delicate foot in front of the other and we breath in and out, in and out, entirely unaware of the simple miracle that it is to exhale.We flip on a tiny switch in a blistering plastic tub and a blast of warm water wipes away th...